About

This website was created in the fall of 2012 for the graduate class History 6330: History in the Digital Age at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Our goal was to carry out the following mission statement:

"Our website intends to explore ideas of Black Power, the Sexual Revolution, and counterculture through an examination of Playboy magazine from 1965-1975, a period in American history when the New Left challenged the social, political, and cultural status quo. We will do this through a study of the magazine's covers, articles, advertising, comics, and editorials, which will be represented in our exhibit by showcasing collections of the materials listed above."

When we began working with the Playboy magazines that were available in the Special Collections of the J. Murrey Atkins Library, we found that two entire years worth of issues were missing- 1971 and 1972. It is for this reason that these two years are not represented within the decade we are presenting.

While we are sad that this three month journey through the world of Playboy and Hugh Hefner has come to an end, it is also exciting to share the Playboy that we got to see in the old magazines. All of us who have worked on this project have walked away with a new way of looking at the magazine and its founder, and we hope you will too.

We would also like to thank the wonderful staff in the Special Collections of the J. Murrey Atkins Library at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. From retrieving the magazines to scanning them, you were always there to help us. Thank you.

Team Playboy:

Samantha Machalik is a first year graduate student in the Public History program. She is from Racine, Wisconsin and earned her Bachelor's degree in History from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay in December 2011. Samantha is number 55,580 on the waiting list for Green Bay Packers season tickets. Fingers crossed!

Jessica Injejikian is also a first year graduate student in the Public History program at UNC Charlotte. She is from Grover, North Carolina and completed a Bachelor's degree in History and a Bachelor's degree in Applied Anthropology from UNCC in May 2012. Jessica has a tattoo of Charles Darwin's first sketch of natural selection as a reminder to always change as new data is presented and as motivation to eventually disseminate linked concepts behind evolution and equality.

Jay Requard is a second year graduate student in the Secondary Education program with a concentration in Social Studies. He is from Apex, North Carolina and earned his Bachelor's degree in History from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 2009. He has a fluffy cat named Mona.